Roy Smeck Mandolin??

[buckeyblue]

Hello. I have a friend who collects vintage guitars and, knowing what a mandolin fanatic I am, he told me he saw a Roy Smeck mandolin, with the "Performing Seal" soundholes, made by Harmony. According to all the Harmony "experts" such a thing does not exist. And there is no such picture or description anywhere on the internet, at least not that I have found. Has anyone ever heard of or seen the like? Is it genuine, or a fake? I have contacted Harmony concerning this and am waiting for a reply, and thought in the meantime I would ask y'all and see if you know anything. Thanks!!

[MikeEdgerton]

Roy Smeck was a well known Harmony endorser (as well as other brand names as well). Jim Garber might be able to shed more light. He has a large collection of catalogs and was a student of Mr. Smeck.

[Jim Garber]

Ridiculous. Of course there were RS mandolins as well as guitars, tenor guitars, ukes and hawaiian guitars. I have a uke. I got outbid by a famous California mandolin collector years ago on a mandolin. The one recently on eBay was withdrawn from the auction and the seller told me that the consignor took it off.

I have a couple of catalog page scans at home I can post a little later.

[Jimmie]

Yes, years ago, I had one. Plainly but well made, lightly built. They do seem to be rather rare, however.

[MikeEdgerton]

I honestly don't think that the Roy Smeck name on a Harmony mandolin does much for the value.

[buckeyblue]

Okay...thank you!! How rare are these? What are they worth?? Are they sought after??

[Jim Garber]

I think there may be a little confusion here. I don't think that I have seen an actual Harmony-branded mandolin with Roy's name on it but there were the Vita series, names after the Vitaphone films that Roy made, like this one. I don't believe that Roy ever played the mandolin his shows.

Here are the two catalog pages from a 1931 Continental Music catalog. These are all the Vita instruments.

[MikeEdgerton]

Okay...thank you!! How rare are these? What are they worth?? Are they sought after??

Post a picture. The question is what are we really looking at? Harmony mandolins are rarely worth more than a few hundred dollars at most (most are worth much less) no matter what name is on it. You could have the only one in existence and it's not going to drive the price very far.

[Jim Garber]

Frankly, In think that the RS Vita ukes are the more desirable of these. Book value (in excellent condition) around $750-1000. The Vita line are actually pretty nicely-made instruments. I have not seen any of the mandolins in person, just pictures, but as instruments they seem rarer but probably are not all that successful as mandolins. Then again they will have some sort of collector value and some appeal due to the design. I know that the ukes have incredibly thin tops and sounds quite nice.

[mandolooter]

I have the tenor Vita and its very sweet. It has a one piece curly mahogany back that is unbelievable. One of the better sounding tenors I've ever heard also. Maybe I'll try to get a few pic's up here tomorrow am.

[buckeyblue]

I don't have a picture, a friend just told me he saw it somewhere for sale, didn't even tell me where. He said it was a Vita...that's all I know. People kept telling me they didn't exist. Thank you all so much for clearing that up. I appreciate your help.

[Jim Garber]

There was one on eBay recently but the seller withdrew and told me that her consigner wanted it taken off. She probably got an offer that she thought was good. That is probably the one your friend saw.

[David Newton]

Hello all.
I have the shards of a Vita Mandolin in my shop, it belonged to Colin McCubbin. The Vita's all had the same curly Cuban Mahogany back & sides, beautiful wood, yes!
You are right Jim, the ukes are the most prized of the lot, but wouldn't I love to have a Vita guitar, that one is probably the most rare, and would run more than a uke, I'd wager. Oh, that aero-bridge!

[Jim Garber]

Dave:
Are you restoring that RS mandolin? Do you have pics of it. Was it smashed altogether?

[David Newton]

No, it was too far gone to be worth piecing together. It could have been done, but I judged it not worth the effort. The Vita's were very lightly built, perfect for ukes, but mandolin stresses were just too much for this one.

[Jim Garber]

Maybe you should build one.... hmmmmm... maybe a commission... RS harp mando... interesting...

[David Newton]

Jim, when I was building ukes, back when ukes were having their re-emergence, the Vita Ukes were the top of the heap, right there with the best Martins (not the 5k's though).

I worked on several, and Roy Cone and myself built a line of Vita copies, we called "Tuma-Vita" Ukes. Roy was such a hoot, the "tuma" stood for Texas Ukulele Manufacturerers Assoc. I have a plan drawn for a real close copy with dolphin sound holes instead of the seals. No time for that stuff now.

[David Newton]

Kinda dusty, but it's all there, Roy Smeck Vita Mandolin!
Hey, nice tuners...

[Bill Snyder]

Dave, is it yours? I understand you are not going to restore it, but what are you going to do with it?

[David Newton]

No it isn't mine. It will eventually go back to the owner.

[MandoSquirrel]

Looks like a deep body?

[Bernie Daniel]

I have a question about another Roy Smeck insturment -- the Roy Smeck (Gibson-made) "studio guitar".

I saw one of these on wall of a small local shop and they were asking a pretty price for it (something in there range of $8K if I recall correctly).

I think its gone now but it was a round shouldered jumbo (like the Advanced Jumbo) and a had a very wide neck, with high action -- obviously set up for a slide or dobro playing -- it reminded me of an Hawaiian slide guitar neck. The body looked to be rosewood.

I wonder if these were really Advanced Jumbos with a slide guitar neck - hence the high price?

[Jim Garber]

There were two Roy Smeck artist model Gibson dreadnaught Hawaiian guitars, the rosewood Radio Grande and the mahogany Stage Deluxe. The Radio Grande goes for over $10K, so you probably saw a Stage Deluxe. You are correct that they were only made to be played as steel guitars but had rounded necks for some reason.

[Bernie Daniel]

I'm pretty sure this one was rosewood but I might be remembering the price wrong as it was about 2 years ago and there were nearly a dozen vintage Gibson guitars on the wall that day - - it might have had a $10 - 12K tag -- there were a couple of old L-5's, a 50's J-200, a loaded Super 400, and a Super 300 -- plus a bunch of lesser L-models and those are just the ones I remember! Thanks for the information. Oh and the other thing he had was a K-4 that had been converted to a 6-string guitar -- that one made me sick.

[Jim Garber]

If it was a couple of years ago it could have been a rosewood one. Gibson flattops have gone up in price a fair amount over the last few years.